"Thud!" A discus sheet landed on the table with a crisp sound.
Duoxia, feeling the immense strength he possessed, couldn't help but sigh deeply.
He, a mere Second-Generation Vampire, could easily crush this iron disc on the table. I'm afraid the current progenitor could dominate the entire Southern Continent with just his physical strength!
"Surely, this demonstration should give you an idea of just how powerful Blood Clan Progenitor Norton, truly is!"
Open your eyes and see the world! Lord Miles, Norton has been resurrected, and the world is completely different from what you previously knew!
Duoxia sighed deeply, but then comforted him, "Don't be too afraid. Although Vampire possess such great power, apart from Norton, the Vampire Progenitor, other Vampire have no effective means to resist sunlight and the Church. Although Norton's physical body has ascended to godhood, he is ultimately not a god. At most, we can only ensure that we cannot harm him, just like the god-corpse Kuba that was sealed in the back mountain of the Holy See back then."
Its main form of expression is still brute force, without any means of large-scale destruction.
The main reason for the Vampire cholera outbreak in the past was the excessively large Vampire population.
However, the Southern Continent now steeped in religious atmosphere, making it impossible for ordinary Vampire to roam and multiply freely. While Norton might be able to break down the religious atmosphere in some places by brute force, the Southern Continent is far too vast. If he were to multiply Vampire by disrupting the religious atmosphere of the Southern Continent, we could easily remedy the situation by repairing the local religious artifacts after he leaves, thus combating the Vampire ' proliferation.
Strategic depth is the foundation for our resistance against its violence; humanity will ultimately gain new life under its brutal rule!
Seeing an old Vampire spouting lofty ideals so casually, and noticing his slightly concerned expression—as if afraid he might despair because of the strength he had just displayed— Miles XIII finally couldn't contain himself and burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha... You dare call such power 'great power'? Lord Duoxia, is this the incomparably powerful extraordinary power you keep talking about?"
Hahaha, you don't even know what our cannons are, how dare you claim that that damned Vampire Progenitor Norton can cause trouble in the Southern Continent today?
Open your eyes and see the world, Your Excellency Duoxia! The world is completely different from what you imagine!
With a hearty laugh, Miles XIII picked up a classic, gilded flintlock musket with a large, flared muzzle, reminiscent of those used by pirates during the Pirate Era. He then loaded it with gunpowder and bullets and fired a shot right next to Duoxia's ear.
"Boom!"
The sound of an explosion startled Duoxia. Slightly alarmed, he looked back and saw that the stone ground behind him had been blasted into a crater the size of a fist!
The flintlock musket was actually quite powerful; with a larger amount of gunpowder, it could even shatter a person's skull.
Duoxia looked back and saw that the flintlock musket in Miles XIII's hand was still smoking, and Miles XIII was looking at his old face with a mocking expression.
"Whoosh!" Miles XIII blew away the smoke from his musket, then a condescending sneer appeared on his face.
"Lord Duoxia, the gentleman who has been silent for a thousand years, this world is completely different from what you think!"
So what if Norton has your so-called divine body? Even if you can't harm him, can't you use other forces to completely seal him away? Hmph, just because you can't harm him doesn't mean you can't do anything to him. I'll use the impact force of cannons to overturn him and bury him a thousand meters underground. What can Norton's divine body do? The pressure of the earth alone will be enough to suppress him until he can't move an inch!
Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. With your ancient knowledge, you don't know what pressure means to us today.
As for your so-called propagation of the Vampire race, that's utter nonsense!
If I replace the ammunition in this flintlock pistol with silver, then you Vampire will be easy targets! What need is there for the faith of Church?
Besides, why would I push Norton to the opposite side of humanity?
According to this historical record, his fundamental purpose in establishing the Blood Court and attacking the Holy See was to destroy the Holy See's faith, which could harm him. On the contrary, the humans under his rule lived a very prosperous life and could even become truly immortal.
From this perspective, what harm is there in us humans being ruled by him?
What you call righteousness is entirely from the perspective of the Church!
Your constant rants about the atrocities committed by Blood Clan Progenitor Norton, are no different from the terror I know of in the medieval Papal State! In fact, his methods of governing humans were far more benevolent. Compared to him, you are more like Vampire!
This world is not black and white, Lord Duoxia. Just like our relationship with Blood Clan Progenitor Norton, it is not necessarily a matter of inevitable conflict!
God considers Vampire unclean, but humans don't necessarily have to think so!
Therefore, compared to your so-called fight against Blood Clan Progenitor Norton, I prefer to cooperate and achieve a win-win situation.
On the contrary, your Holy Lord Church like a bone-deep body, influencing the changes and development of the Southern Continent for thousands of years. It is like a weed that cannot be eradicated. In fact, every dynasty has even dreamed of regaining the rule and causing turmoil in the Southern Continent.
To the common people, your Church is the real Vampire feeds on the blood of the lower classes in the Southern Continent!
To the countries of the Southern Continent, your Church is the real Vampire, clinging to their very foundations and exploiting their so-called religious traditions to leech off their lives!
I don't entirely agree with your outdated suggestion. These days, we value cooperation and mutual benefit, and your feudalistic thinking is far too backward.
Having just recovered from the powerful impact of the flintlock musket Duoxia, Duoxia was both angry and bewildered as Miles XIII kept calling him old-fashioned and saying that the Church was no good!
Why is this world so different from before? Hearing of the divine corpse and ancient history, shouldn't these people immediately bow down in worship, restore the Church, and vow to fight Norton the Vampire to the death?
Why are they all starting to want to collaborate now?
Is this what they call ideological liberation?
Seeing Miles XIII waving him away, Duoxia was extremely anxious. "Your Excellency Miles, Your Excellency, things are completely different from what you think! Norton's evil may be hidden for a while, but it will eventually wreak havoc on the Southern Continent and once again bring about the threat of annihilation!"
Moreover, humans are not subject to Existence Level's control unless they become Vampire, but once they become Vampire, they are completely enslaved by Norton and have no chance to rise again!
Lord Miles, you must never entertain the idea of becoming Vampire!
Your so-called flintlock muskets are indeed quite powerful, and perhaps artillery has even greater earth-shattering power. With the current peak national strength of the Southern Continent, it is indeed possible to confront Norton!
And if they want to ban Norton again, now is the best time!
Norton has only recently revived, his forces are not yet fully formed, and the Vampire, due to oppression, have become disloyal to him. The Werewolf who have recently revived are also without allegiance. Currently, dealing with Norton requires the combined efforts of humans, Vampire, and Werewolf. If we wait any longer, Norton will likely become too powerful to resist!
Miles XIII's face was stern, but he was already impatient.
"Hmph, endless nonsense. In the end, you still want the Holy Lord Church to be restored. The Southern Continent has finally managed to get out of the shadow of this Church, so how could we possibly want to fall into this quagmire again!"
"Guards, see the guest out! I can't comment on Norton, but as you said before, without Norton, the Southern Continent would still be languishing under the rule of your Holy Lord Church!"
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Go ahead and do it. As some have said, history will eventually give you a fair evaluation!
Norton is a prime example.
Norton has always been associated with negative adjectives such as tyrannical emperor and the resurgence of evil.
His actions are universally condemned and he is vilified.
Countless people loathe him, as if Norton had killed his entire family.
But upon closer examination, Norton never oppressed anyone!
He was merely oppressing Vampire.
While Norton's actions did indeed eliminate a large number of people in the Southern Continent, his ultimate achievement was the destruction of the last divine corpse in Garden of Eden. Humanity no longer needed to eke out a living under the rule of the feudal Church; instead, it was freed from its shackles and was able to develop to the present day.
Whether viewed from the outcome or the process, Norton cannot be considered a sinner of the Southern Continent.
Over the past millennia, the death toll under the Papal State has been far greater than it has been in recent years.
Therefore, Norton was not a demon, but a national liberator!
Duoxia and the people of the Southern Continent who had suffered under Norton's oppression might not be able to accept this idea.
However, this view is now widely accepted in the Southern Continent.
They also harbored great curiosity and affection for the now-resurrected God Norton.
Sake, a small border town of the Aodelan Empire.
The news of God's resurrection has already spread throughout the Southern Continent, and people on other continents may even learn about it during trade.
Norton's chosen capital after his resurrection was also on the border of the Aodelan Empire, so the nearest city to them was this small border town called Sake.
As a small border town, Sake's geographical location was not very advantageous, so the ideological liberation movement did not have a wide reach, and the religious reform did not play a very good role.
This meant that although there were two types of churches within the area, there was no trend of ideological liberation, and the majority of the people there remained Church believers.
But precisely because they are all Church believers, they have a very favorable impression of Norton, the God who has now escaped from the back hills of the Holy See.
" God!"
"I implore God to send down holy light!"
In the middle of Sake's filthy streets, a tall, humanoid creature with outstretched pure white wings floated in mid-air with the whooshing sound of its wings. Its slender body accentuated its inhuman beauty. Its perfect form and appearance were pure and flawless, as if God had descended and bestowed divine light.
Countless figures gathered in the street, all dressed in Church attire, kneeling on the ground, ignoring the excrement and mud all over the ground, offering their highest respect to the wondrous God in the center of the street.
Norton's palace was inaccessible, and Vampire could not enter this city filled with the holiness of God.
Norton didn't want to get his feet on the filthy ground, so he had to spread his wings and fly in.
Norton floated in mid-air, his gaze sweeping across the entire street. As he looked at the figures kneeling on the ground in their white robes, a strange sense of exhilaration spread through him.
This feeling of exhilaration is not the kind of exhilaration one gets from being worshipped, but rather somewhat akin to the exhilaration of a minotaur who has stolen the name of God.
Besides, this also happened to align with his inner thoughts.
Norton now has no chance of advancing. He had previously considered either trying to steal God's name to see if he could advance, or starting to mass-produce flesh and blood creations to break through his own limits through uncertain changes, or even downgrading the entire Garden of Eden to steal God's authority.
The respect and worship these people show them now makes them see the possibility of success with the first method.
However, some marketing is still needed.
"I never imagined that a thousand years ago, I, Norton, had such a terrible reputation, yet now, a thousand years later, I must feign true holiness... Oh well, I am ultimately a person of good character. My past actions were all out of necessity. From now on, I will be a good God, and in this way, demonstrate true holiness!"
Norton felt incredibly wronged as he recalled his past actions, and his eyes even welled up with tears.
His previous actions were all forced upon him, and he himself was actually very distressed!
But he had no choice back then; he was forced to do it!
Just like how Duoxia is still trying to persuade the Emperor of the Aodelan Empire to reinstate Norton, who wouldn't resist in such a situation?
Now that he has a choice, he truly wants to be a good person!
Norton's pale, holy body slowly rose and hovered high in the sky, bathed in sunlight, the golden sun covering his body with a layer of golden light. This pale, divine, and holy scene moved the kneeling crowd to shouts of emotion.
"The suffering of all living beings is unbearable to me, so I have awakened from my slumber."
I am God, I am the progenitor, my holiness will shine upon the entire Southern Continent...
Norton's ancient language is completely incomprehensible to modern ears, but his beautiful voice, accompanied by accented effects and a high level of spirituality that allows one to understand the meaning even without knowing it, makes him appear increasingly holy and divine, more and more like a true God.
As the mantra was recited, the entire Sak City seemed to be truly illuminated by God's holy light. Countless believers, kneeling on the ground, bowed their heads and began to hum the Bible, which had been revised countless times.
Pale God floats in the sky, and a white-clad crowd kneels on the ground. As the devout chanting of scriptures rises, the sun in the sky grows even hotter, as if it is truly scattering God's holy radiance.
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(Don't worry if it feels a bit rushed; these chapters are establishing the main storyline around Norton, and the Norton era is about to begin.)